Cold Medicine

[luv]

It's that time of year. The weather can't decide if it's going to be hot or cold from one day to the next. This indecisiveness in the weather usually means that I'm gonna get a cold. And guess what, I've done just that. I've already been through the coughing and sore throat. I've moved on the the really annoying runny nose and sneezing phase. When I say runny nose, I mean dripping like a friggin faucet!

I've been taking AlkaSeltzer Cold gel tabs. They seemed to help yesterday. What do you find helps lessen the severity of a cold? Anyone tried Zicam?

[StcChief]

Go to doctor and get something strong to kill it.

[Katipan]

I live off of Dayquil and Nyquil for a couple weeks a year.

[luv]

Originally Posted by nm_dbf

Go to doctor and get something strong to kill it.

It's a cold, not the flu. Doc will just tell me to go home and wait it out.

[seclark]

nyquil is the bomb...but don't wait for a cold to enjoy it's benefits.
sec

[luv]

Originally Posted by Katipan

I live off of Dayquil and Nyquil for a couple weeks a year.

Last night was the first night since Friday night that I haven't taken NyQuil. I was so tired, that I didn't think I'd need it. Went to sleep at 2:30, and I've been up since 7:00. Lesson learned.

[Dave Lane]

Theraflu at night works well.

Dave

[Fire Me Boy!]

luv, I have found that the real Alka Seltzer cold stuff works a LOT better than the pills.

[Rain Man]

Walk it off. Jack Youngblood played in a Super Bowl with a broken leg, and you didn't see him taking Nyquil and TheraFlu.

[luv]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Walk it off. Jack Youngblood played in a Super Bowl with a broken leg, and you didn't see him taking Nyquil and TheraFlu.

I haven't taken anything yet today. I want it to just run it's course. However I can't go to work having to sneeze or blow my nose every two minutes. I'd take the time off, but why waste paid time off on being sick?

Oh, and a leg is one thing, but we're talking about my poor little nose here.

[DJJasonp]

Dayquil works good if you need to work and not pass out at your computer....for the night time...you have the right stuff....alka seltzer cold and flu works awesome...and if you can stomach it...the tablets you drop in water work even better than the gel tablets.

[BucEyedPea]

I'd beef up my immune system during times like this.
What I do is take supplements and for now I'd extra C and A and lots of pure fresh water.

If you get something keep taking plus up the C and maybe some Echinacea.
I also see a alt medicine doctor who gives me homeopathics....everything she's ever given me or my kid has worked.

My kid had something last week at the end of Spring break and I had her back to battery in two days.

But a cold usually has to run itself out...and I do that with most common ills.
In fact I don't even fight fevers as it's the body doing its job killing whatever it is. I just find that docs overprescribe antibiotics and rarely wait for results on throat cultures before they do prescribe. I don't believe in that.

[Fish]

Originally Posted by BucEyedPea

I just find that docs overprescribe antibiotics and rarely wait for results on throat cultures before they do prescribe. I don't believe in that.

Yes... doctors are slowly killing your immune system. Antibiotics are evil.

[Otter]

Does Cold Weather Cause Colds?

By Paula J. Wart

In the United States, colds and flu are more likely to occur during the fall and winter. The increase begins in late September and continues through April. Is it because of the cold air? No. Cold weather does not cause you to get sick. Here are a few things that actually have no effect on colds and flu:

* Cold weather
* Sudden weather changes
* Getting chilled
* Becoming overheated
* Exercising in the cold
* Having enlarged tonsils or adenoids
* Going outside with a wet head
* Cold feet

Studies funded by the National Institutes of Health found that these conditions have little or no effect on the development or severity of a cold.

So What Does Cause Colds and Flu?

Viruses and people cause colds and flu. People being in close proximity to other people, indoors, with windows shut tightly bring on cold and flu epidemics. School children are exposed to common winter illnesses because of the many children sharing classrooms, lunchrooms, and restrooms. Because the school term coincides with colder weather, many people mistakenly concluded that cold weather is the culprit.

Specific conditions that contribute to colds and flu include:

* Spending time indoors where the cold virus is easily spread
* Low humidity (dry air)
* Psychological stress
* Allergic disorders affecting your nose or throat
* Menstrual cycles

Cold- and flu-causing viruses survive for hours floating through the air and on doorknobs, hands, and other surfaces. Unless destroyed by washing, they wait around until they can gain entry through your nose, eyes, mouth, and cuts or scrapes on your skin.

Source:

1. The Common Cold. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 2001. Available online at: http://www.niaid.nih.gov/ factsheets/cold.htm. Accessed December 5, 2004.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by BucEyedPea

But a cold usually has to run itself out...and I do that with most common ills.
In fact I don't even fight fevers as it's the body doing its job killing whatever it is.

I have the same philosophy. My wife will chide me for not taking an aspirin when I have a headache, or not taking painkillers if I have a back problem. My response is that my body has a million years of evolutionary training in how to handle these things, and if my back tells me not to move around very fast, then I'm going to listen to it.